Better communications for areas poorly served by the Internet and improved consumer safeguards and better regulation head up a list of policy priorities to be pursued by the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) for the remainder of this year through to the end of 2017.
ACCAN CEO Teresa Corbin has made it clear that the “consumer centred” priorities are aimed at achieving “affordable, available and accessible communications products and services” for all Australians – and that each policy priority aims to address a segment of the market “not working for a group (or groups) within Australia”.
Corbin told a Melbourne conference on Wednesday that to achieve better communications in poorly served areas, ACCAN will work closely with communities for improvements in existing services and mobile expansion, and for a smooth transition to NBN broadband.
“Our focus will be on interim solutions to improve broadband in areas that are currently underserved, and that are not prioritised in the NBN rollout, and on equivalence of regional/metro longer term NBN services.
{loadposition peter}“We will support policies that deliver greater mobile coverage and wider choice of provider,” Corbin said.
ACCAN also wants to push for advances in consumer protections for the delivery of essential communications services as a key priority, with Coerbin saying the focus will be on ensuring safeguards are reformed so they are relevant to the needs of todays’ consumers.
“We will engage in reform of universal services, the Federal Government’s consumer safeguards review, and reviews of industry codes and guidelines,” Corbin said.
Highlighting the recently launched ‘Get Connected’ resource under the better communications for poorly served areas priority, Corbin said this includes an ADSL availability map and helpful information about alternative services for consumers frustrated by poor services while waiting for NBN to roll out.
Also on the ACCAN’s policy agenda, Corbin referred to commissioned research – ‘Confidfent, but Confounded’ conducted by Dr Paul Harrison, of Deakin University, which she said will inform many areas of ACCAN’s work, including in the priority area of improved consumer decision making.
The research found that many consumers do not understand their telecommunications contracts, and Corbin says this points to the need for “simple, easy to understand products and product information”.
Also mentioned by Corbin are guides to help consumers navigate the complexities of NBN services, which she said were similar to ACCAN’s Sky Muster satellite guide, and will be a focus for ACCAN in the coming year.
In addition to communications for poorly served areas and improved consumer safeguards and better regulation, here’s ACCAN’s other key policy priorities for the remainder of 2016 to the end of next year:
• Improved consumer decision making - ACCAN will support a competitive market by giving consumers the tools they need to participate
• Digital literacy and digital government – ACCAN will support community capacity building to enable consumers to engage with digital government
• ACCAN will advocate for inclusive digital transformation by government to ensure citizens and small businesses are not left behind as services are transitioned to online delivery
• Affordable communications – ACCAN will strive to eliminate cost barriers for low income consumers, and promote better value for all
• Improved accessibility – ACCAN will partner with its members to call for the removal of discriminatory barriers to access
• Privacy and cyber security – ACCAN will ensure that consumer privacy is maintained in interactions with government and business, and that consumers are empowered and informed
• Competition and market structures – ACCAN will advocate for competition and transparency between ISPs and content providers, to ensure the internet works for the best interests of consumers.
To access more detail on ACCAN’s policy areas and Corbin’s full presentation,click here.